History of Embalming and Restorative Arts 3 CE Hours
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Chapter 6: History of Embalming and Restorative Arts 3 CE Hours By. Elite Staff Learning objectives Discuss some of the reasons different cultures have embalmed Name three inventions that significantly changed embalming their dead. techniques in the 1800s and 1900s. Describe the process and materials used to embalm the dead in Name the first well-known “demisurgeon” whose restorative ancient Egypt. techniques were a sensation in the early 1900s. Discuss the historical changes affecting the embalming policy Discuss the findings from the recent National Cancer Society from the Dark Ages through the Renaissance. research, published in November 2009, and how this may affect Explain how the Civil War changed the history of embalming. the use of formaldehyde in embalming. List three noted early American embalmers and their contributions Explain the risks of arsenic in old cemeteries and embalmed to the field. bodies and how to protect yourself from exposure to arsenic. Introduction This chapter is presented in two parts. The first part of the chapter discusses possible risks of embalming, including those associated with discusses the history of embalming, introducing significant practitioners formaldehyde exposure highlighted in recent research findings, and the and authors, the invention of innovative devices and techniques, and the hidden danger of arsenic in historic cemeteries. subdiscipline of restorative techniques. The second part of the chapter PART I: EMBALMIng – A LONG HISTORY Men and women have practiced human preservative methods and became critical for transportation or viewing associated with funeral restoration art since early times, to restore and maintain bodies and memorial celebrations, to display the body as is the tradition in free from decomposition and return the body to its natural lifelike many cultures and faiths, and provide a sense of peace and closure to appearance. The reasons for the practice are varied and distinct to family members and friends. each culture. The ancient Egyptians practiced their embalming and This section highlights some of the significant individuals, inventions mummification techniques to meet religious goals involving the and techniques in the history of embalming, from ancient through afterlife. In more recent times, the practice was a matter of necessity; modern times, describing the incredible range of materials and the early study of anatomy and the technique of dissection, for methods used to make tools and embalming fluids. It also reviews example, necessitated some method or material that would allow a history of modern restorative art, which emerged as an important the corpse to be studied for longer periods in warm as well as cold subdiscipline in the early 1900s. weather. Not least significant, embalming and restorative methods Embalming defined Embalming refers to the preservation of the dead human body by Humans around the world and throughout history have developed specific actions conducted by human beings. It is “man-made,” in that scores of fascinating methods and materials for preserving dead it requires specific types of intervention and treatment of the body that bodies. Ancient Sicilians had a method that used heat; ancient necessitates human action. In some parts of the world, elements of the Egyptians used evisceration and immersion in their special solution; climate, such as extreme cold or dry heat, act as a natural preservative, arsenic and mercury were popular for a while, and, more currently in creating corpses that do not decompose and maintain their form for this country, arterial injection and cavity treatment became the norm. great lengths of time. These natural processes do not require human intervention and are not considered embalming. Historical periods Embalming history is composed of a number of distinct periods. Our ritual, and Arab conquerors also rejected the practice of embalming. Still, earliest knowledge of embalming is that which occurred in Egypt over Egyptian methods recorded by historians of the day would emerge many 5,000 years ago. It continued, with variation in practices and materials years later, influencing embalming in other parts of the world. over time and location, for almost 4,000 years, ending in about 650 ACE. The second main epoch of embalming history is the period of the Egyptian embalming was a religious practice, as preservation of the body Renaissance in Europe, a period in which embalming techniques were was a necessary precursor to resurrection in the afterlife. As Christianity primarily used to preserve the dead for purposes of dissection and study. became more dominant in the area, the practice was suppressed as a pagan Page 81 Funeral.EliteCME.com The third distinct period is modern history, from 1861, the start of officials, whose bodies might travel to a number of locations for the Civil War, to the present day. During the Civil War, embalming memorial services. Additionally, embalming allowed viewing of the became more common (at least among Northern officers), initially body without showing all the ravages of war. In this third, and current required by public transportation services before they would take a period, embalming is available to nearly everyone who requests it, corpse to its final resting place from the battlefield location. It became where once it was only available to nobility or the wealthy. an invaluable means for maintaining corpses of prominent military Ancient Egypt Well over 5,000 years ago, Egyptians did not embalm their dead. In order to keep the body from decay in the warm Egyptian climate, Instead, they prepared the dead by folding the arms and legs of the they had to construct a method to preserve body tissues over time. body and placing the body in the fetal position, wrapped in a simple While we do not know exactly how it began, it is likely that methods cloth or fiber mat, and buried on its side in a shallow grave in the common at the time for preserving meat, fowl or fish probably desert. The location was specific: west of the Nile River, in some cases suggested a clue for early techniques. One might bleed a fish, for with pottery or other items. Because the body was surrounded by hot, example, then preserve it by salting, smoking, sun drying or otherwise porous sand in an area with virtually no precipitation, the climate acted heating it to prevent decomposition and store it for a later time. By the as a preservative, extracting all moisture from the body. time of the very earliest documentation of the process of embalming By about 5,000 years ago, Egypt had become a bustling hub with (in about 500 BCE), it had become a sophisticated technique that had a growing population and increasing wealth. Those with titles and been evolved over hundreds of years. Embalming methods varied wealth wanted more than a simple burial. Because one’s body and by era as well as by individual embalmers. Additionally, a number certain organs in it (but not all), as well as specific possessions, would of different services were usually available to the customer, ranging be required in the afterlife, it was problematic to just leave a body in in price according to materials and time involved. In most historical the sand to dry, as it could easily be uncovered by winds and exposed accounts, there are three options provided family members of the or be robbed of the items buried with it. To ensure that they entered deceased, distinctly defined as low to high quality. the afterlife with their body and possessions intact, the wealthier To demonstrate each tier of service, the embalmers would show three Egyptians requested deeper graves that could be sealed or lined with wooden models of corpses that were distinct from one another by the materials that would keep sand away from the body and grave robbers way the body was incised (or if it was not incised), the number of steps away from personal items, such as buried jewelry and even furniture involved, and the materials used. The most expensive (over $1,000, by that the upper class might want buried in their container. current monetary standards) required incision and removal of internal Even with sealed containers, grave robbers of the day, knowing that organs, as well as the insertion of aromatic powders and perfumes, valuable jewelry and personal objects were being buried with a body, such as myrrh, frankincense and cinnamon, before the incision was would find ways to open the containers and steal the items, usually sewn up. A less expensive method (less than $100) utilized an injection leaving the body in a position where it was no longer protected and of cedar oil into the gut or anus, while the cheapest included little more no longer preserved. Once discovered, bodies might be decayed or than washing and salting the body for a lengthy period. In most cases, even reduced to a skeleton, which was shocking to family members. the desirable processing time was a period of 70 days. Unaware of the process of decomposition, the Egyptians initially Our knowledge of the process comes primarily from descriptions thought that burying loved ones in tightly built stone coffins would written about 500 BCE by the famous Greek historian, Herodotus. preserve them. When they found that the soft tissues would disappear Nearly 500 years later, in 45 BCE, Siculus, another historian, even in a stone casket, they coined the term “sarcophagi,” which refers would write about the process – still the three tiers of service, but to a type of bronze or copper casket, but literally means “flesh eater.” materials and processes had changed slightly. Here are some of the characteristics that were common to both accounts. Egyptian embalming procedure The first step for the ancient Egyptian embalmer was the removal of The next steps were spicing and wrapping the body.